SECTION - I(Q. No. 1-10) Read the passage and answer the questions that follow.
I did not know anything for certain. What sex was the snake, was it male or
female? I will never know; for the snake unwound itself from my arm and slowly slithered into my lap. From there it crept onto the table and moved towards the
mirror. Perhaps it wanted to enjoy its reflection at closer quarters.
I was no mere image cut in granite. I was suddenly a man of flesh and blood. Still holding my breath I got up from the chair. I quietly went out through the door into the veranda. From there I leapt into the yard and ran for all I was worth.”
“Phew!” Each of us heaved a sigh of relief. All of us lit beedis. Somebody asked, “Doctor, is your wife very fat?”
“No,” the doctor said. “God willed otherwise. My life companion is a thin reedy person with the gift of a sprinter.”
Someone else asked, “Doctor, when you ran, did the snake follow you?” The doctor replied, “I ran and ran till I reached a friend’s house. Immediately I smeared oil all over myself and took a bath. I changed into fresh clothes. The next morning at about eight-thirty I took my friend and one or two others to my room to move my things from there. But we found we had little to carry. Some thief had removed most of my things. The room had been cleaned out! But not really, the thief had left behind one thing as a final insult!”
“What was that?” I asked.
The doctor said, “My vest, the dirty one. The fellow had such a sense of cleanliness . . .! The rascal could have taken it and used it after washing it with soap and water.”
“Did you see the snake the next day, doctor?” The doctor laughed, “I’ve never seen it since. It was a snake which was taken with its own beauty!”